RERF/Communications Engineer
RE
Career

RF/Communications Engineer

By the numbers
Typical pay
$130,220 / yr
Education to start
Bachelor's degree
Future demand
+6.2% by 2034
People in this job
97K
Figures shown for ·closest of 2 O*NET occupations
The work
A day, hour by hour
08:00
Morning triage

Scan overnight test logs; flag any failed signal measurements for the day.

08:25
Team standup

Sync with hardware and software teams. Surface blockers, assign today's bench slots.

08:45
Simulation deep-dive

Run antenna propagation models in HFSS; decide if results are solid enough to build.

11:00
Bench testing

Hook up spectrum analyzer; measure real signal against the simulation predictions.

13:00
Interference hunt

Trace a dropped-signal bug — outside interference or own circuit flaw? Isolate and confirm.

14:30
Design review

Walk antenna placement tradeoffs with the team; performance vs. size and power budget.

15:30
Compliance check

Verify latest design revision meets FCC limits and 5G spec requirements.

16:15
Write-up & handoff

Document test results and share findings with hardware and software teammates.

Things you do
  • Design antenna and circuit systems that send and receive wireless signals.
  • Run simulations to predict how radio waves will behave before building anything.
  • Hook up spectrum analyzers and test gear to measure real-world signal performance.
  • Hunt down interference problems causing dropped signals or poor reception.
  • Tune antenna placement and power levels to squeeze out better coverage.
Decisions you’ll make
  • Is this signal problem interference from outside, or a flaw in my own design?
  • Should I push for better performance here, or accept the tradeoff to meet the size and power budget?
  • Do my simulation results trust enough to build hardware, or do I need another round of modeling?
  • Is this antenna placement good enough for real-world conditions, or just ideal lab conditions?
  • Should I design for the current wireless standard, or future-proof this for what's coming next?
Education Pathways · how you get there
100 in 100 went the college route · 0 in 100 found another way in None, typically
Education mapped from O*NET:
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